The common bladed ceiling fan was invented in 1887 by Philip Diehl. Over the years, many improvements in function were made and there have been many variations in style, but the general form of a motor suspended from the ceiling, directly or at the end of a post, driving a plurality of pitched blades commonly referred to as paddles has remained the same.
For a discussion of existing ceiling fans of this type see, for example, Pearce, U.S. Design Patent 297,456 issued Aug. 30, 1988; Gajewski, U.S. Pat. No. 7,481,626 B2, issued Jan. 27, 2009; Wing Hang Chan, U.S. Design Patent D680,210 S.
Before the advent of mechanical air conditioning, ceiling fans were common in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, but they lost popularity with the increased penetration of central air conditioning.
Recently residential ceiling fans have experienced a resurgence, with many new homes often being equipped with multiple fans. The popularity or even necessity of ceiling fans has grown steadily with the cost of air conditioning and heating. Some concerns or drawbacks persist however. For example, bladed ceiling fans will cause flickering shadows if light passes through the rotating blades and flickering reflections in eyeglasses. These can cause headaches in people who are trying to focus their vision as in reading or doing close work Such as hand assembly. It is also believed that such flickering light could possibly trigger an epileptic seizure in some individuals. Bladed fans by nature of their design cause a pulsating air flow that some people find objectionable.
Low ceilings present a problem, even to those considering a close mounted fan, because the rotating blades pass too close to the occupants.
The primary direction of airflow from a common ceiling fan is axial to the rotation. When such a fan is mounted over a dining table, food is cooled too quickly.
Many interior designers consider a typical ceiling fan to be contrary to the aesthetic design intent of a living space and would prefer an attractive pendant, chandelier or other type of lighting fixture. As a result, existing fans are often replaced with such a fixture during remodeling.
Alternative designs have emerged to address some of these concerns for example, Hiner, U.S. Design Patents D6765435, Feb. 19, 2013, and D676952 S, Feb. 26, 2013, disclose a clever bladeless fan comprising a plurality of parallel, vertically spaced co-radial rings concentrically disposed and driven to rotate about the shaft of a driving motor. Frictional drag acting on the air disposed between the horizontal rings causes said air to rotate and be slung out by centrifugal force.
Of similar form and function are those U.S. Patents disclosed by Fiacco in U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,365, Dec. 21, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 6,372,005, Apr. 17. 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,514,304 B2 Feb. 4, 2003. These similar disclosures comprise an essentially circular assembly that is rotationally driven by a motor but differ from Hiner in the means by which air is accelerated and expelled, Flacco using a plurality of curved blades which are coupled with and extend from a rotated plate similar to a traditional radial fan.
Flacco also incorporates peripherally mounted filtration means, which rotate with the impeller, for the purpose of removing particulate such as pollen, dust and tobacco smoke from the discharged air. However, accumulated particulate in said rotating filters effects balance, causing the rotating assembly to wobble.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,514,304 B2, Flacco also discloses an assembly that is driven by a traditional ceiling fan motor that provides a wiring path and a means to attach a lighting fixture to the underside.
The design intent of these fans disclosed by Hiner and Fiacco is to create horizontal air flow parallel the ceiling and down the walls of the living space. This will more evenly distribute the temperature of the air within the living space but will provide little convective cooling since the air is not directed toward the occupants. Convective airflow over the skin of occupants has been shown to cause evaporation of a small amount of perspiration, allowing them to feel significantly cooler at higher temperatures. (Analysis of Standards Options For Ceiling Fans, PG&E May 2004)
A unique attempt to solve some of these problems can be seen in Day, U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,618 Feb. 24, 1999, disclosing an Air Movement Apparatus comprising, as disclosed, an essentially toroidal shaped body, having upper and lower cambered surfaces, a peripheral surface which defines a rim and an axial opening defining an essentially conical inner surface the larger diameter of which intersects with the said upper surface. A first barrier member resembles the frustum of an inverted cone, the conical surface of which is concentric and proximate with the conical internal surface of the toroidal body to form an annular air passage. An air movement means, located at the lower end of said air passage, impels air at a high velocity up through said passage where it exits at an acute angle to the upper surface of the toroidal body.
A low pressure area is established, in accordance with Bernoulli's principle, between the high velocity air flow, and the cambered upper surface, in a manner similar to an airfoil, the relatively high angle of attack together with an annular notch adjacent to the exit point of high velocity air, generates turbulence in the form of ring vortices, causing surrounding air to become entrained thus amplifying the amount of air that is in motion. These low pressure vortices follow the surface and wrap past the rim where they gradually shear off in an outward to downward direction.
The upper surfaces of this apparatus must be clear of obstruction to allow air to circulate. Therefore, the body of this apparatus must be mounted a distance below the ceiling on a post similar to a ceiling fan, as described in the disclosure of Day.
Another attempt to solve some of the stated problems can be seen in Seccareccia, WO 2011/054093 AI. May 12, 2011, in which a Centrifugal Ceiling Fan Is disclosed. This design comprises an upper, bowl shaped, housing with intake ports and a lower, bowl shaped, housing with outlet ports. The upper housing encloses a motor which drives a centrifugal impeller housed .in the lower housing. Air is drawn in through the intake ports and passes into the lower housing where it is expelled through the outlet ports. This design solves the problems caused by external rotating blades but still hangs from the ceiling similar to a common ceiling fan
A distinct disadvantage that the above disclosed devices of Day and Seccareccia share is the inability to reverse the direction of air flow from ceiling to floor for cooling season, or, from floor to ceiling, for heating season.
Ceiling Medallions are used to add aesthetic embellishment to a ceiling usually central to a room. In vintage homes they were generally hand crafted from wood or cast in various materials such as piaster. They can be created to reflect any architectural period and taste. A lighting pendent, chandelier or ceiling fan is most commonly mounted central to the medallion. They are also useful in relocating the hang point of a fixture within the perimeter of the medallion without the need to relocate wiring or patch the ceiling. For examples of ceiling medallions see: Julliard, U.S. Pat. No. 6,667,109 Sep. 23, 2002, Lackey, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,501,17382 Mar. 10, 2009 and Mc Ellen, U.S. Pat. No. 7,879,299B2 Feb. 1, 2011 which uniquely embodies UV Sterilization. This invention is intended to serve the same functions as a ceiling fan without the stated disadvantages but also to combine the function and general appearance of a ceiling medallion.
Any device that circulates air can also stir up dust and pollen and other particulate matter which can then be inhaled by the occupants of a space and also settle on furnishings. A static electrical charge can collect on the blades of most fans, which will cause an accumulation of said particulate on these blades. It is an optional intent-of the invention to provide means to filter said particulate from the airstream.
In an energy conscious society, it is advisable to leverage methods that may decrease the amount of energy consumed while maintaining an equal amount of work achieved. It is an optional object of the present invention to incorporate airflow amplification means, also known as fluid amplification, common to the art, to achieve these increased efficiencies. For a discussion of such amplification means see; Day, U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,618, Feb. 24, 1999 mentioned above as well as De Lisio, U.S. Pat. No. 2,488,467, Nov. 15, 1949; Davenport, U.S. Pat. No. 2,544,379, Mar. 6, 1951; Coanda, U.S. Pat. No. 3,047,208, Jul. 31, 1962; Fitton, U.S. Pat. No. 7,931,449, Apr. 26, 2011.
It is also advisable in such a society to provide heating or cooling only to those rooms of a building where it is needed. As an example, the south and west facing areas of a building may need to be cooled while the north and east facing areas may still require heat. it is also an optional intent of the invention to embody heating or cooling means that will be part of a central heating and/or cooling distribution system.